Origins
by Juicy Pear
Summary: What was the organization before Roxas? How did the newly-recruited Nobodies become the heartless bunch that we meet in Kingdom Hearts? And more importantly, what happened to Saïx to make him so calloused? This story explores the hearts of the heartless and the emotions of the emotionless through the eyes of the original thirteenth member of Organization XIII, and Saïx's lost love.
1. The Thirteenth

**This story used to be known as **_**The Origins of Organization XIII**_** and was one of my completed stories. However, due to recent re-readings I decided that this story had much more potential than what I actually wrote so I am going to repost the edited version of this story, along with about five new chapters, as I complete them. Let me know what you think!**

"Hey, Xehanort!" The black-robed figure approached his superior with a gloved hand raised in greeting.

Xehanort glared at the familiar nuisance, his number two in command now, but said nothing.

"Oh, that's right. My apologies… Xemnas." He said the name with a level of difficulty. It was awkward to pronounce and still hard to remember, but then again all of their names were. "I've got some good news! Care to take a guess at what that could be?" He paused and registered the irritation on the older- though he looked much younger due to certain events- man's face. He continued, "No? Alright, I'll tell you. Remember how you were going on about how we needed a thirteenth for this plan to work? Well it turns out that when Radiant Garden lost its heart, not all the inhabitants died."

"I am aware of Traverse Town, Xigbar. There is no thirteenth for us there. And I have told you before that we need a keyblade wielder."

"No, not all of them went to Traverse Town either, old ma- Xemnas." Xigbar cleared his throat. "I found someone who should've died when Radiant Garden fell, but survived by becoming a Nobody. She became like us, only, the natural way." Xigbar shook out the memories of Xehanort- at the time under the guise of 'Ansem'- wielding his keyblade against them, transforming them all into heartless versions of themselves, and eventually stealing the heart of Radiant Garden itself. It was shortly after this event that Xehanort seemed to no longer be able to use that keyblade…

"And this Nobody… does it wield a keyblade?"

Xigbar shook his head. "No. I mean, I don't think so. But it's better to at least assemble The Thirteen isn't it? We don't technically need a keyblade wielder to fulfill this prophecy or whatever, do we?" Xigbar still did not fully grasp the entire scope of what they were doing. Talking with Xemnas, who did, was always a little belittling because of it.

Xemnas thought for a moment before he responded, "I suppose not, but as I told you before, assembling The Thirteen is not our first priority at this stage. We want to try to assemble Kingdom Hearts by collecting hearts first. For that a keyblade is necessary."

Xigbar barely followed. He had already asked countless times why assembling Kingdom Hearts was so important, but none of the answers ever made any sense. It seemed to be Xehanort's life goal though, which meant that he had to make it his own. In reality, the whole thing seemed pretty stupid if Xigbar was honest with himself. As long as he had worked with Xehanort, all the man ever wanted to do was assemble Kingdom Hearts. First he tried it by creating something called a _X_-Blade which ended up literally blowing up. Xehanort still insisted that the failure hadn't been a complete loss; however, since he did get a rocking new bod out of it, a body he had stolen off some stupid kid who didn't know how to mind his own business (the same stupid kid who had stolen Xigbar's eye).

When Xehanort (a.k.a. Ansem at this time) tried to create Kingdom Hearts a second time, much more recently, he did it by collecting seven hearts of pure light from a bunch of princesses, only that time a moronic kid with a keyblade rushed in and ruined everything at the last minute. Xehanort still refused to believe that attempt was a total loss as well since he managed to possess this other kid or whatever. The whole thing really made no sense and with every new attempt Xigbar was beginning to realize how stupid it was to get mixed up with keyblade wielders in the first place. Oh well, he was in too deep to pull out now. Especially when Xemnas had concocted another complicated scheme and had already assembled twelve of his precious thirteen and _finally_ given them their DtD-approved uniforms. They were just about ready for action. It was a little exciting. After years of just waiting around and training while Xehanort/ Ansem/ Xemnas did all the fieldwork, it was about time they got out and did something.

"Alright. We can complete The Thirteen now and continue to search for a keyblade wielder willing to do our bidding. It will take some time before the true thirteen is mentally prepared to function as it is meant to," Xemnas said.

Xigbar nodded. "Understood. So should I go get her? She's out near Traverse Town, but didn't make it all the way there."

"No. I will go. I need you to stay here and deliver the missions today. The more they focus on their duties, the faster The Thirteen can be united."

Xigbar groaned. He hated mission duty. "When are you going to find somebody else to start giving out these missions? I feel like a school teacher…"

Xemnas ignored Xigbar's complaints and opened up a corridor of darkness, something all the members were learning to use now that could take them to all sorts of new worlds. At least, it could transport them to places as long as they wore their new cloaks which prevented them from being torn to bits inside the corridors. Xemnas stepped through the swirling violet portal before it closed behind him.

* * *

She hung upside-down from a tree branch, searching through the thick foliage for any sign of movement. Her arrow was already nocked and she was positive today was the day she would get it.

"Where are you?" Her words were barely a whisper.

"Are you searching for me?"

The girl looked up at her knees grasping the branch and the crescent moon-shaped smile in the air above them. She growled and loosed an arrow before flipping down from the tree.

The Cheshire cat chuckled and fully appeared on the branch the girl had been using. "Is that a yes? Or a no?" The cat began to roll around contentedly. "Or perhaps you do not know what you are searching for."

"Shut up you stupid cat!" She fired another arrow, but the cat vanished before the arrow could strike. He was still around though. He was always around. "Stop following me!"

"But you are _so_ terribly interesting!" The cat had appeared again in another tree. "No one like you has ever come here before, you know."

She loosed another arrow, knowing it would miss as it always did despite her great aim. She did not worry about running out of arrows since the bow she used seemed to be able to summon them whenever the bowstring was pulled taut, so she freely fired at the cat whenever she saw fit, hoping that one day she might just get lucky.

The cat dropped down behind its branch and reappeared from around another tree. "There's no need to be hostile around me. I've actually come to warn you. One who has done you much wrong is coming for you now. He comes bearing answers, answers you so desperately seek, but be warned! Of the questions that he answers, few will be truthful and none complete."

She let the bow evaporate. That was another strange thing about the bow; it came when summoned by her will and left when it was no longer needed. Its appearance had been strange, as strange as her appearance in Wonderland. The decorative, dark thing had been beside her when she woke here. She had no idea how she ended up in Wonderland to begin with, or why she looked so different now than she did back in Radiant Garden, but most perplexing of all was how strangely empty she felt inside. Ever since her arrival she couldn't shake the feeling that she was missing something.

"Stop speaking in riddles, cat! Who's coming for me and where can I find him?"

"Oh, you don't want to do that. The two of you have never met before… or have you? I suppose it couldn't be helped if-"

"Where is he?" She had a lot of questions, if she could find anyone who could at least answer some of them it would be worth whatever risk the cat wanted to warn her of.

"In the between, of course."

"Where is 'the between'?" She said it with an incredible amount of restraint.

"It is a place only accessible to your kind. Though, he will be here soon enough. If you really do want to meet him you need only stay put."

"My kind? What is my kind?"

The cat smiled as if she had finally asked the billion munny question. He vanished and reappeared back on the first branch and answered, "Why, one without a heart."

She summoned her bow and nocked an arrow, but Cheshire vanished before she could shoot. He was really gone this time. He had said his piece. Nevertheless she hated giving him the last word. "I do too have a heart!" What a vile thing that cat was. Of course she had a heart…

"No, you do not."

The girl whipped around and stared at the strange man that stood behind her. He was dressed in a black robe and had white hair and empty, yellow eyes. It took her a moment to recognize his features, but when she did she gasped aloud. "Ansem?" He had been a great scholar back when she lived in Radiant Garden. She had never met him personally, but she had seen him maybe once or twice. "Is that you?"

He shook his head slowly. "No, I am known as Xemnas now. I am the Nobody of the Ansem you once knew."

"Nobody? What do you mean?"

"After the fall of our world those with strong hearts were able to survive in the form of Nobodies, people without hearts. You are one of these people."

"Wait, our world… Radiant Garden is gone?" She did not know what to think. Radiant Garden was the only home she'd ever known. What had happened to her family? Her friends? What did he mean when he said she didn't have a heart? Everyone has a heart… don't they? Was this why she felt so empty inside?

"What happened?"

"The heart of the world was swallowed by darkness. It was destroyed."

"What about all the people? They couldn't have all just died…"

"No. Thirteen of us, including you, became Nobodies when the world fell. Many others were transported to a place called Traverse Town. The rest we have received no word about and have to assume are lost to us forever."

She swallowed. This was a lot to process…

"What is your name?"

"Oh, sorry. It's Airi." She extended a hand for Xemnas to shake.

He disregarded it and waved his own hand in the air, making the letters of her name appear before her for a moment until they began spinning around her body. _What?_ When Xemnas threw up his hand again, the letters stopped and a large, golden 'X' had appeared between them. "Your name is now Rixai. Come with me and I will take you to the other Nobodies."

Rixai was fascinated by Xemnas's power. He summoned a large, swirling, purple portal before them and handed her a black cloak identical to his own. She slipped it on over her T-shirt and faded pants and zipped it up the way he wore his. He then entered the portal and motioned for her to follow which she did. Just before the portal closed she caught a glimpse of the Cheshire cat's smile through the trees and remembered his words. _One who has done you much wrong..._ She looked up at Xemnas in confusion. _When did Ansem ever do me any wrong?_ She did not have time to dwell on this for long though, because before she knew it they had reached the end of the strange corridor and were walking into a large white room.

**How was chapter one?**

**If you liked it, be sure to check out some of my other Kingdom Hearts-related stories on my page. Also, please review!**

**Song for this chapter: It's the Fear ~Within Temptation**


	2. Familiar

Saïx entered the grey room, punctual as always, and noted Xigbar's absence. What a surprise. Was the man ever anywhere he was supposed to be on time? Saïx snorted, wondering for the billionth time what Xemnas was thinking when he made Xigbar his second in command. If he had been promoted to such a position of power he would do things _much_ differently. Things would go smoother, faster, _better_. Not that he wanted Xigbar's position. He was nobody's lapdog.

He took a seat on one of the soft, white couches, awaiting the arrival of the mission-bearer, when he overheard Marluxia and Larxene talking.

"According to Luxord that's what the meeting today is about. He said that Xigbar said that Xemnas went to go get the newbie yesterday. And not only that, but I could have sworn I heard Xemnas talking to someone on my hall last night," Larxene said while filing her nails with one of her kunai.

Marluxia seemed to ponder her words. "Huh. So we have a new member? I wonder if he'll be any good…"

"She," Larxene corrected. "The voice I heard talking to Xemnas was definitely a she."

"Interesting."

Saïx tuned them out. Their idle chatter bored him and he had heard all he really needed to hear anyway. It seemed there would be a meeting today. He supposed that explained Xigbar's absence.

As if on cue, Xigbar entered the grey room from the main hall. "Hey, fellow Nobodies! We've got a meeting in five so get ready or whatever. Yadi yadda, don't be late, you know the drill." Xigbar lazily waved over his shoulder as he exited the room.

Saïx stood, resisting the automatic temptation to roll his eyes. Direct expressions of emotion like that were for Somebodies and he refused to be caught giving into such redundant impulses. Instead, Saïx simply raised a hand out in front of him and summoned a corridor of darkness. He stepped through and reemerged on his seat in the round room.

"As you all know, we still require a keyblade wielder if we are to regain our hearts," Xemnas spoke. He often reminded the Nobodies of this in their sporadically placed meetings, but Saïx listened nevertheless. He showed the superior his full attention as he continued, "However, you have all performed satisfactorily on your missions to discover new worlds using the corridors of darkness. Xigbar has informed me that we can now add Wonderland and Halloween Town to our collection of worlds. Continue to score the corridors for other inhabitable worlds and we should discover one who wields a key as a weapon soon enough.

"Now, before you are released, I would like to introduce you to something else we found while scoring the new worlds." Xemnas indicated the distant floor of the round room. All of the members craned over the edges of their upraised seats to see what he was guiding their attention to, all but Saïx, that is. It was more than likely the new member he'd heard so much about that morning… nothing too exciting.

A corridor of darkness opened on the round room floor and out stepped a hooded female figure. Saïx glanced down at her. She was small, he noticed, short, thin, and not too shapely. He couldn't see her face though, so he couldn't be sure if she was truly a woman or an adolescent. He moved to sit back, uninterested.

"Hey, that makes two girls in a row!" Demyx whispered a little too loudly from beside Saïx. He turned his head slightly to glare at the insufferable pest. How that boy managed to weasel his way into the organization he would never know.

"Welcome our newest member: Number XIII, Rixai. We are from now on to be known as Organization XIII."

At that moment, Saïx caught a flicker of motion out of the corner of his eye from the Nobody below them. He turned his head, getting a quick glimpse of her dark blue eyes before she lowered her head and turned to go without being dismissed. Saïx blinked a few times in surprise, but not at her early departure. He knew those eyes. They were eyes he thought he'd left behind him a long time ago. Eyes he never expected to see again.

_Airi?_

**Please review!**

**Song for this chapter: Breaking the Habit ~Linkin Park**


	3. Reunion

Rixai stepped out of the dark corridor and emerged in the center of a large, round meeting room. Her hood was up over her head and masked half of her face from view; though the chairs in the room were so high she doubted the people in them would even be able to see the uncovered part of her face. The corridor shut behind her and she waited silently as instructed.

"Hey, that makes two girls in a row!"

Rixai looked up to identify the person who had spoken, but her eyes immediately focused on the man sitting next to him.

"Welcome our newest member: Number XIII, Rixai. We are from now on to be known as Organization XIII," Xemnas said from the highest seat in the room. Rixai's eyes didn't stray from that familiar, blue-haired man. Was it really him?

His golden eyes met hers and for a second she thought maybe she was mistaken. The boy she remembered had blue eyes, but then she saw his eyes widen in recognition. It was him.

_Isa._

* * *

Rixai sat in the grey room, her hood still up, as she waited for them to finish their meeting. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to leave right away, but it was either that or interrupt Xemnas which she was sure was pretty frowned upon. How was she supposed to stay silent though? Especially when she knew _he_ was in the room. _Isa_. Her chest hurt as she remembered her friend. It had been so long. He was so much older now. She touched her right cheek, the one with the strange squiggly mark that had appeared when she first awoke in Wonderland. They both looked so different. Was she sure he even recognized her? _Would it matter? _The thought struck her almost painfully, _He doesn't have a heart anymore_.

She glanced down at her chest. What did that mean? How was it possible to not have any feelings? Feelings drive all actions, don't they? Didn't she feel?

Heavy footsteps tromped into the room. She turned her head slightly to get a better look at the massive, red-headed man who made them. He held a large, heavy-looking blade-type thing in one hand and opened a corridor with the other. He shot her a quick glance before stepping through it and disappearing. Perhaps to do one of these missions she'd heard about? More footsteps followed the big man's and Rixai turned to watch as everyone filed into the room. One of the members: a skinny, blond boy clutching an instrument, laughed and joked around with another member: a tall, blond woman, the only woman Rixai had seen in this place so far. She listened to their laughter and wondered how they were able to do that without hearts.

"You must be Rixai."

Rixai jumped and turned to face the man who spoke from beside her on the couch. He had his long, silver-striped hair pulled back into a ponytail and an eye patch placed over one eye. _How did he get there without me noticing?_ Rixai nodded in answer to his question, but remained silent.

"Tell me, what is your weapon, poppet?" He placed a hand on her knee. "Or, do you need my help to discover it?"

Rixai hissed involuntarily and jumped off the couch, whipping out her bow and pulling the string to aim the newly-formed black arrow at the man's one good eye. The room fell silent and the man slowly raised is hands, showing her his palms in an act of submission.

"Don't call me poppet," Rixai spat. She turned her bow just the slightest bit so that when she fired, the dark arrow just barely grazed the man's ear before embedding itself in the wall behind him. He touched a hand to his ear in shock and she let her bow disappear, the arrow following it.

"Airi?"

Rixai flinched. She knew that voice. She turned slowly and dropped her hood the moment she caught sight of Lea and Isa standing there. Lea was the one who had spoken. Why hadn't she noticed him during the meeting? Then again, he looked almost as changed as she did. His medium-length bright orange hair was now a long, dark red mane, he had two little marks on his face right under his eyes, kind of like her own mark, and he had grown so tall. They both had. Why hadn't she grown tall like them?

She shifted her attention to Isa. He seemed almost the same to her, which was comforting. The only difference she could see besides his height and those eyes was how long his hair had grown, much like Lea's and her own now that she thought about it, only his had grown lighter where theirs had grown dark. She used to have lilac, curly hair back when she knew them, but now her hair had grown straight and violet; making it look longer by taking it from shoulder length to mid-back, well, sort of. She had never had a very orthodox hair style so her longest strands- those on the left side of her face- fell around mid-back and shortened towards the back of her head where her hair was shaved short. It grew longer again towards the right side of her face, but not as long as the left side so it was still shoulder length. Her short layers about the top of her head now stuck up at odd angles whereas before they blended into the curly mayhem that was her hair. She supposed straight hair was just different like that.

"Hello, Lea." She finally met Isa's eyes, "Isa." Her throat tightened when she said his name. _Isa…_

"Uh, no. Actually, it's Axel now. Got it memorized?"

That drew a slight smile out of Rixai and seemed to put everyone else at ease. The other members all resumed their conversations or left to do their missions. Rixai couldn't help overhearing a few unkind words spoken about her from the blond woman who had been laughing earlier, but she ignored them. "You haven't changed, have you?" The question was directed at Axel, but she really cared more about Isa's answer. How different was he now that he was a Nobody? "Then I guess my name is Rixai now."

"We know," Isa said. "The meeting, remember?"

_Oh, yeah_.

"My name is Saïx."

_Saïx_. The name felt surprisingly empty. It lacked all the meaning it should have had being a name. She didn't like it.

"Do you know about the missions yet?" Axel propped himself up with an elbow on Saïx's shoulder, exhibiting all the grace of his usual terrible posture.

Saïx shrugged him off and Axel shot him a look. So, things hadn't changed much between them at least.

Rixai shook her head. "I know _of_ them, but not what I'm supposed to do."

"Well, that's too bad," Axel said and smirked.

"Why?"

Saïx answered for the now laughing Axel, "Because that man you almost shot a few moments ago assigns the missions."

Rixai turned to eye the ponytailed man. He was glaring over at her but turned away when she looked to continue a conversation with another man who had short blond hair and a lot of earrings. She turned back and shrugged. "He shouldn't have been touching me then. Besides, he doesn't look that tough."

"You'd be surprised," Axel said. "Hey, since you don't have anything to do right now and we have missions," he said the word with a measure of irritation, like these missions were chores, "why don't you come with us and help us out? You seem pretty good with that bow of yours."

"Axel," Saïx sighed impatiently, "She just got here and already you're trying to use her to get out of-"

"Okay."

They both turned and looked at her, Axel with a wide grin on his face and Saïx in surprise.

"Better that then stay behind with Captain Pervert over there," here she jutted a thumb over shoulder at ponytail guy.

"His name is Xigbar," Saïx said, "and our mission today is to investigate this place called Twilight Town. We're looking for a Nobody who uses a giant key for a weapon."

Axel raised a hand to open a corridor and Rixai responded, "A key? Why a key?"

Axel cursed as his attempts to open a corridor kept failing. "Saïx, can you give me a hand?"

Saïx sighed and opened a corridor, "You really need to learn how to do it by yourself. What happens if you have a mission without me and you can't RTC, huh?" Saïx turned his attention back to Rixai, "I can explain more while we work."

Axel elbowed Saïx playfully, "I'm getting better at it…"

The three of them disappeared into the dark corridor.

* * *

Axel, Saïx, and Rixai sat on the ledge of a great bell tower Twilight Town had above its train station. Rixai licked at her sea salt ice cream and felt the cool breeze freeze her cheeks. She was cold, but she missed having afternoons like these with her friends.

"So, the one with the key can collect hearts from the heartless, and those hearts will create a thing called Kingdom Hearts which will give us all our hearts back?" After many questions, Rixai was pretty sure she had at least that much down.

"Bingo," Axel answered, his ice cream already gone, leaving him the stick to point at her with.

Rixai smiled and looked out at the world they were in. If that was true, then she would do everything possible to find the one with the key. She turned and glanced at Saïx, who in turn looked over at her. She looked away. She would do anything to get Isa his heart back. And Lea's too, of course. All three of them.

**How was it? Please Review!**

**Song for this chapter: Misguided Ghosts ~Paramore**


	4. Lesser Nobodies

Saïx was investigating a new stretch of the seemingly endless dark corridors today. It was tough work- mapping out every hall and all the worlds they led to along with discerning the level of relativity each of the inhabitable worlds possessed toward the organization's goals- but it still beat battle missions. Saïx stopped at a doorway and glanced down at his notes. _Halloween Town._ He was getting close to his assigned corridor.

"Hey, Saïx!"

Saïx sighed but did not turn around. What did Axel want now?

Axel caught up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, a little breathless from running. "Hey, are you going to Halloween Town today?"

"No. I'm mapping the corridors," Saïx slightly raised the notepad in his hand, emphasizing the blatancy of his answer, before resuming his walk towards the new hall.

Axel paused. "Oh."

For a second Saïx thought Axel would stop pestering him and go do his own mission. It seemed he had forgotten the incredible amount of persistence that lived in his old friend.

Axel hurried to follow after him. "So, what do you think of Rix?"

"Rix?" Saïx had reached the new hall. It was riddled with doorways. How wonderful for him…

"Yeah, you know, Rixai. What do you think?"

Saïx glanced over at Axel. Since becoming Nobodies his friend's usual mischievous smirk had become much more subtle, but Saïx could still recognize it in his eyes. He resumed his work, placing a large X made of three gently pulsating chains over a dead doorway. "I don't think I understand your question. I think she's Rixai."

The glint in Axel's eyes waned. "Oh, c'mon! That's it? You used to go crazy for her back when we were kids. At least admit you're happy to see her!"

"Happy? We can't feel _happy_, Axel. And that was a long time ago." Saïx moved on to another doorway. This one led somewhere. He marked it on the map to investigate later and moved on. All of the members who were assigned corridor-scoring missions were instructed to follow this procedure. No one was supposed to explore new worlds without at least one other Nobody there with them; although, Saïx was pretty sure Demyx did anyway. It would explain the exceptionally small amount of ground he covered on a regular basis, at least.

Axel scowled. "And here I thought you had a thing for Airi. Man, I gave you guys all that time alone too-"

Saïx snorted despite himself, "When did you ever give us any time alone? You were the biggest pain in both of our sides, and it wasn't just us either. All of Radiant Garden knew you were a nuisance. Thanks to you and your ridiculous schemes people even started to avoid me."

Axel laughed. "_My_ schemes? If I remember correctly, _you_ were the one doing most of the scheming. I just helped."

Saïx opened his mouth to respond when Axel continued, "And, I told you you liked her."

Saïx grimaced. He had let his emotions, or rather, the memory of his emotions, get the better of him again.

"No. Maybe… maybe once, but like I said, that was a long time ago. She is nothing more than a colleague to me now."

Axel crossed his arms thoughtfully. "Well, that's too bad I guess. I really thought you two had something special."

There was a strange twisting at Saïx's gut as he though back to that time. Images of lilac curls and blue-eyed smiles flashed in his mind's eye before he shook them away, along with the unusual sensation.

They were all memories of emotions.

Emotions were a weakness for lesser Nobodies.

"Don't you have work to do?" Saïx's voice was controlled now. It was hard and devoid of any inflection, just as a Nobody's voice should sound.

Axel chuckled, though the laugh was also devoid of humor. "Yeah. Thanks for the reminder." Axel uncrossed his arms and pushed off of the corridor wall he'd been leaning against. He turned to go, but called back when he reached the end of the new hall, "Oh, hey, Saïx."

Saïx remained silent.

"Let's get ice cream later, okay? You, me , and Rix. It'll be like when we were kids!"

"No," Saïx responded, but Axel had already gone. When was that Nobody going to learn that _nothing_ could be like it was back when they were children? They'd given that, and everything else up the moment they lost their hearts.

Again Airi popped back into Saïx's mind uninvited, bringing the uncomfortable twisting sensation along with her. He scowled.

Emotions were for lesser Nobodies.

**Please review!**

**Song for this chapter: Where Will You Go ~Evanescence**


	5. Heartless

"We are not here to hunt the heartless, Rixai," Luxord said for the tenth time since the beginning of their mission. "Our mission is merely to observe. We are trying to discover-"

"More about the new worlds and look for a keyblade wielder. I know." Rixai took out another Striped Aria from the tree branch in which she was perched. "But I've been here before. I already know all I need to know about Wonderland."

Luxord sighed, "The information is important to collect for the whole of the organization, not just an individual. To play all of one's chips in a single hand like that would be foolish."

Rixai rolled her eyes. Of all the organization members she had met, Luxord was one of the easiest to tolerate. If she had to go on a mission with someone, and Axel and Saïx weren't an option, she preferred to go with Luxord or Lexaeus. Those two talked the least and held their own on the missions, though Luxord did get annoying when he began talking in his strange gambling metaphors. Plus, Rixai was pretty sure he was friends with Xigbar, the eye patch guy, which was slightly disconcerting.

After two weeks in the organization, Rixai had learned almost everybody's names. She had had missions with some of them and the others she picked up from passing gossip. She had also become quite skilled with opening and navigating the doors to darkness, much to Axel's chagrin. Saïx had explained that this was most likely due to her heavy influence over darkness or something like that, but Rixai did not really understand.

She took out another Striped Aria, ignoring Luxord's huff of annoyance. He stalked off without her which was fine with Rixai. She had spent enough time exploring Wonderland when she was stuck here. Why did they keep sending her back? Oh well, at least it was something to do. She didn't see why so many of the organization's members complained about having missions all the time. They were kind of fun.

Rixai smiled as she spotted Luxord through the trees a ways ahead of her. He was being approached by Grey Caprice. She shot it before he even realized it was there and smirked. When would they learn to appreciate her heartless-killing efforts?

"Hello again."

Rixai jumped in surprise and fell forward off of her branch. She caught another before hitting the ground and righted herself on it before locating the Cheshire cat. His ringed tail flicked back and forth in a branch far above her and she scowled.

"What do you want? I'm on a mission you know."

"Ah, yes. I've seen you on your missions here. I told you that you would be back." The cat rolled off of his branch and disappeared only to reappear on a branch closer to Rixai.

She blanked, "No you didn't."

"Didn't I?" Cheshire cocked his head in thought, "Well, no matter. Tell me, what is it like to not have a heart?"

"Why don't you tell me?" Rixai glared at the cat. She hated the superior, teasing tone he always took on with her. Plus, what business of his was her heart?

"Oh, don't be silly. _I_ have a heart, _you_ however do not which is quite fascinating…"

Rixai really wanted to shoot him. She might have if she didn't have so many questions. "I don't feel any different actually. At least, I don't think I do."

"Interesting… or is it? I suppose the question to that lies in what the heart is."

"What is it then?"

"You tell me."

"Answer me, cat!"

"You answer me."

Rixai growled. She hated this cat. After a moment of thought she answered, "Feelings? I don't think we're supposed to be able to feel without a heart."

"Oh? And do you?"

"Do I what?"

"Do you feel?"

Rixai bit the inside of her cheek. She had been struggling with this question since her first day in the organization. She had feelings, she knew she did despite the emptiness that often beset her, but if she wasn't supposed to have them maybe… maybe she was confused? Maybe she didn't understand what they meant by feelings or maybe her feelings were not real. It was a hard question to answer, especially since every time she tried to remember an emotion or linger on one it vanished. They were always chased away by her questions. All of them except…

Her chest tightened as she remembered seeing Isa, no, Saïx, sitting in that meeting room for the first time. She remembered all the relief she had felt and that strange ache in her throat and chest that again was beginning to plague her. Those were real. Those feelings were real.

"Yes."

"I see," Cheshire purred. "A Nobody with emotions. How very intriguing."

"But what does it mean, Cheshire? How can I feel anything without a heart?"

"Hmm?" The rings on the cat's tail were already beginning to unravel. He was leaving now that he had gotten what he wanted. "I assure you I do not know… or do I? Perhaps you should consider the things that provoke your emotions…" All that remained of Cheshire now was that creepy, floating, crescent smile, "But then again, maybe not."

** Man, this cat is fun. Please review!**

** Song for this chapter: Going Under ~Evanescence**


	6. Restless

"Isa, Isa wake up."

Saïx's eyelids gradually lifted, his golden eyes blurry with sleep. "Rixai?" It was too dark to see in the room very well since the moonlight that normally flooded the room was obscured by clouds, but he found her outline crouched next to his bed, her face close to his. "Rixai, what time is it?"

"Shh, it's late," She whispered. "I couldn't sleep. I need to ask you about something."

Saïx sighed and sat up. He twisted the nob on the lamp beside his bed and light instantly filled the room, making them both wince until their eyes adjusted to it.

"Okay, what's going on?" Saïx fixed his attention on Rixai and immediately regretted turning on the light. She was wearing a simple black tank top, one of the regulation undershirts the organization provided but from his angle offered him a very non-regulation view of her chest, and a pair of black, fuzzy pajama bottoms that were so short they barely stuck out from beneath the hem of the shirt (after a moment's thought, he was pretty sure she'd stolen these from Larxene). Her hair was tousled from restless sleep and stuck up in many places, but not in an unattractive way, and her eyes were bright with the adventurous glint he remembered seeing so often in their youth. He swallowed, the tug in his gut was instantly back with a vengeance.

He needed to pull himself together before he let his 'emotions' get the best of him.

Rixai cleared her throat, unintentionally snapping Saïx back to attention. He noticed her cheeks were slightly flushed and her eyes kept drifting down to his bare chest. At least he wasn't the only one who found their situation a little uncomfortable.

She spoke. "I wanted to talk to you about our emotions, as Nobodies I mean."

Saïx raised an eyebrow questioningly, his eyes now glued to hers as he mentally chased away his memory-induced nonsense. "Our emotions? What's there to ask? We don't have any."

She bit the inside of her cheek and looked down. For a second Saïx experienced a sensation similar to guilt, but he chased that away as well. There was no reason to feel bad for telling her the truth, especially since he was incapable of 'feeling' anything.

"I know; that's what everybody's been saying," Rixai said before meeting his eyes again. "It's just that, I _do_ feel stuff." She paused then whispered, "every time I see you I feel something, right here." She placed a hand over her chest, drawing Saïx's attention back down to it and making it difficult for him to register the importance of her words. Every time she saw… _him_?

"I thought it was nothing at first, but it happens all the time. I think… I think it's-"

"Your memories," Saïx finished for her, his eyes again locked onto hers. "All the Nobodies have that. It's just your memories tricking you into believing you feel. Basically, your mind and body are trying to remember what you would have felt in certain situations and make it so you act accordingly. You shouldn't dwell on it too much." Saïx knew this better than anyone. The more he dwelt on his own non-existent emotions, the worse they plagued him.

That was obviously not what she had been expecting. The hand on her chest clenched at the fabric before she looked down in thought.

"But, Isa-"

"No, it's Saïx. You have to remember that, Rixai." This was ridiculous. Was she seriously confusing their past with their current state of existence? She was just like Axel.

_And myself_. The thought came unbidden to Saïx's mind along with more images of their childhood together. He shut his eyes, forcing the thoughts away. No. Things were different now. _They_ were different. They were Nobodies.

Saïx opened his eyes and saw that Rixai had dropped her hands into her lap. Her gaze was still fixed to the floor. She responded, "I remember, but can I call you Isa anyway?"

He gritted his teeth. Why couldn't she understand? Saïx gently placed a hand on her shoulder, drawing her attention back up to him. He needed her to understand.

"I think it would be best if you didn't."

She was disappointed. He could tell she hadn't liked his answer. Rixai nodded and stood and Saïx retracted his hand.

"Okay. Sorry to bother you then," Rixai mumbled before turning to leave. Saïx turned off the light as she shut the door behind her, wishing he could make her understand. He was _helping_ her. Somehow he doubted she saw it that way which bothered him for some inexplicable reason. He sighed and lay back down. Perhaps a good night's sleep would clear everything up for the both of them.

**Please Review!**

** Song for this chapter: Breath ~Breaking Benjamin**


	7. Ice Cream

"Hey, Rix!"

Rixai turned and saw Axel step out of a closing corridor of darkness. She snorted. "You're late!" She turned back to the task at hand and fired another three arrows, finishing off the Poison Plant she had been fighting and the Dire Plant behind it.

Axel gave a low, impressed whistle. "You've really gotten into these missions haven't you?"

Rixai shrugged. "They're not so bad and it's nice to get out."

"Eh. I'd rather be asleep," Axel said as they began to search for the rest of the dire plants. Today's mission was more of a training exercise than an actual mission. Rixai had been partnered with Axel to defeat a set amount of heartless in Twilight Town before RTCing. It was pointless since any heartless killed by a weapon other than a keyblade would simply regenerate elsewhere in the world, but it was still good training and, debatably, pretty fun.

"You always want to sleep. You're like a cat." Rixai fired at a Shadow Heartless which sank into the ground before her arrow could make contact. She scowled.

"So? What's wrong with cats?" Axel brought out his chakrams, a significant improvement from the chakrams he tried to make back when they were kids, and twirled them with his fingers. Small flames danced about his arms until he stopped and tossed one at the Shadow which had reemerged a little closer.

"Ugh. I hate cats." Rixai wished she hadn't brought them up. As soon as Axel asked she thought of Cheshire which led to her thinking about her conversation last night with Saïx. What a stupid idea that was. She barely got any sleep and felt terrible because of it. Axel knew nothing of any of this though…

"Hey!"

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I didn't mean it like that." She needed to get her head on straight.

"Whatever. So, how many more heartless do we have to go?"

"Dunno. I haven't been keeping count."

"Seriously?! What if you finished already?"

Rixai chuckled, "It's a training exercise. How would they know if we _didn't_ finish? You really don't have to do it if you don't want to… Demyx."

Axel scowled. "I'm not being lazy… I'm just… Wait. If we don't have to do the mission then why are you?"

Rixai smiled and shot at another Dire Plant, watching it burst into a bunch of tiny green orbs. "It's just… fun."

"You're scarier than I remember."

She laughed.

"Well, if you're done having your creepy idea of fun, I know of something else we could do."

"Does this _something else_ involve ice cream?"

"Just come on."

* * *

"Do you come up here often?" Rixai licked her sea salt ice cream and stared out at the town. It was a little warmer than last time, but not the same since Saïx wasn't with them.

"As much as I can," Axel munched on his ice cream and lay back to stare at the clouds. "This is my idea of getting out of the castle. Not killing a bunch of heartless for fun."

Rixai smiled, "Well, it's nice. Thanks for bringing me up here."

"No problem. It's kind of nice having company here actually. Saïx never wants to come with me when he does have real missions, which isn't often, so I normally hang out up here by myself."

"Oh," the aching was back, "What does Isa do if he's not doing missions?"

"_Saïx_," He gently corrected her, "is part of the corridor-scoring team. They do all their missions in the dark corridors and look for new worlds and stuff. It's really boring and I'm pretty sure the only reason Xemnas even has them do that is because they're all completely useless on real missions. Hey, your ice cream's melting."

"Oh, sorry…" She didn't really feel like eating it anymore. The choking feeling she had felt last night was starting to come back and she sort of just wanted to go back to her room. "Do you want it?" She held it out to Axel. If it had been anybody else she would have felt bad about wasting their munny, but Lea used to borrow munny from her all the time when they were younger and never paid any of it back.

"Sure, I guess," He accepted it. His first ice cream was already mostly gone anyway. "Do you want to talk about what's bothering you?"

Rixai looked at him curiously. Was she that obvious? "Not really." She doubted Axel's opinions would differ much from Saïx's and she really wasn't up for hearing that her emotions were an illusion created for her by her memories again.

"Is it about Saïx?" Axel pried while chomping on his second ice cream bar.

"Not exactly…" Why couldn't he just drop it?

"Do you still have feelings for him?"

That caught her off guard. "How… how can I? We're Nobodies. We can't-"

"Well, you know what I mean. So, do you?"

Rixai looked back out at the town, the sunset, and nodded slowly. "But Isa says it's just my memories tricking me into believing I feel."

"Yeah, that's what most of the Nobodies believe."

"What about you?"

Axel shrugged. "I don't know. It seems a little far-fetched in my opinion, but then again, so does having emotions without having a heart."

"So… you think we have hearts?"

Axel laughed, "Nah. But something's not adding up, you know?"

Rixai sighed. Axel really was starting to remind her of a certain cat now. "I guess." She stood and brushed off her cloak. "I'm going to head back, okay? You should probably hurry along too since we were technically supposed to do our mission together."

Axel waved her off, "Yeah, yeah. I'll be there soon."

Rixai opened a corridor and stepped through.

** Please review!**

** Song for this chapter: Distance ~Christina Perri**


	8. Memories

"It's right over here." Saïx led Xaldin through the new corridor he'd charted the other day. Of all the doorways he'd passed on his first trek through the hall, he discovered that only two were active. Today, Saïx and Xaldin were to investigate these two doorways and report back on the worlds they led to.

Xaldin stepped up to the first door, his lances at the ready. Perhaps it was the angle, but for some reason when Saïx saw him like that- with the same expression of seriousness on his face that he often wore when he was a Somebody- he couldn't help remembering the time Xaldin, or rather, Dilan had thrown him and Lea out of the Radiant Garden castle.

They were both such imbeciles back then.

"Let us begin," Xaldin said, stepping through the portal. Saïx nodded and followed, summoning his claymore. Since they never knew what to expect on the other end, it was best to start off prepared.

Saïx and Xaldin emerged in a dark world flooded with Shadow Heartless. Large chunks of the dying world had broken off and were floating above a black abyss while the part of the world they both stood on shook violently. It was being devoured.

Xaldin grunted and kicked a curious heartless off his boot in disgust. "Nothing salvageable here. This world is doomed."

"Agreed," Saïx moved aside so Xaldin could enter the DtD. He was about to do the same when he felt a slight pull from the dark world he was about to leave behind to its fate. Saïx paused and turned around. He didn't know why, he had seen many dying worlds before, but this one reminded him of his own lost home: _Radiant Garden_. The world had been so bright and full of life in the days leading up to its demise. No one expected such a terrible disaster could befall them in the matter of minutes that it took for the world to crumble. He vaguely remembered stumbling out of the great castle he and Lea had spent so much of their precious young lives trying to break into. He couldn't remember now why he was there to begin with. Did they finally make it in? He couldn't remember why that little goal of theirs had been so important back then either. All he did remember was the struggle to get out of there, his chest emitting a dark cloud of black vapor as he pitched into wall after wall of the convoluted castle. When he finally made it out of there, he saw that a darkness had settled over the world and stared in horrified shock as everyone he had known, and even those he didn't, disappeared. They became shadows: grotesque, clawed beasts that lurked within the ground and emerged only to steal more hearts. He remembered, at the time, a promise he had made. He was supposed to be somewhere. He was supposed to meet someone. He had wondered if she was still alive…

Xaldin cleared his throat from just within the dark passageway, effectively drawing Saïx's attention.

"You said there was another world?"

Saïx grunted in response and followed Xaldin back into the corridors. After sealing off the doomed world, Saïx instructed, "This way." He stepped ahead of Xaldin and led them down the hall past many other already-dead or not-yet-formed worlds until they reached the other open door.

"Here," Saïx led the way into the new world this time with Xaldin following close behind. This world seemed somewhat stable. Saïx and Xaldin stood on a stone bridge that led up to a pair of massive gates and stared at the gothic architecture of the turreted, gargoyle-topped castle within. It was dark, but this was from the lateness of their arrival, not the darkness of destruction the two of them had just witnessed. A few small heartless lurked about within the castle's courtyard, but these were mainly artificially created heartless, labeled by the emblems on their chests. The true darkness had yet to damage this place.

Xaldin clasped Saïx on the shoulder, "This is good. We've discovered a new world."

Saïx grunted and shrugged off the hand. It was too familiar and too reminiscent of emotion. Xaldin needed to check himself. "Yes. Let's do some quick reconnaissance before reporting in."

Xaldin nodded to the plan and silently crept forward until they heard a thunderous roar come from the courtyard. Both of them quickly moved behind the great stone borders of the gate and peered around them at the source of the noise.

"What is that?"

Saïx squinted in the direction Xaldin pointed. He could faintly distinguish the outline of some sort if massive, hairy creature lurking about the castle grounds. What _was_ it? A new form of heartless, maybe?

At that moment, a large hoard of artificially created heartless emerged around the giant creature. It snarled and began striking them down with an unnatural fury. Every strike from its claws left large scratches in the ground and even the stone sculptures scattered throughout the courtyard. "Get out!"

Saïx turned to Xaldin to confirm that they had both heard the words. This creature, no, this _beast_ could speak?

"How-?" Before Xaldin could finish his question, the castle's front doors opened and what appeared to be a pretty, young servant girl ran out.

"Beast!" The girl ran up to the beast and lightly placed a hand on his furry shoulder. He had defeated the heartless for now, and stood panting but otherwise unscathed.

"Belle? What are you doing out here?! I told you to stay inside!" His tone was harsh, but he said the words out of obvious concern for the girl. Maybe she wasn't a servant then, though her clothes were much to drab for royalty.

The beast turned to face the girl, standing up straight now that he was no longer in battle. He gently took one of her hands in his and guided her back towards the castle.

"I was worried about you. All this fighting… it has to stop, Beast. You could get seriously hurt."

The beast's response to this was cut off as they reached the front of the castle and shut the doors behind them.

Xaldin stepped into the courtyard and stared after the beast. Saïx followed, slightly confused.

"That thing… it's a man," Xaldin stated.

"It would appear so."

Xaldin smiled ambiguously. "There's strong magic at work here."

Saïx was not sure he followed Xaldin's train of thought, though he doubted it was of much importance. He glanced back up at the door the beast and the girl had entered through and recalled his own experience fighting heartless to protect someone, only he hadn't had claws and teeth or even his claymore to aid him back then. He had simply run to meet her, one hand held to his chest in an attempt to hold in the dark cloud of smoke it was emitting, and the other out ahead of him to knock aside any heartless that dared get in his way. When he finally found Airi, she was surrounded by Shadow Heartless and he just wasn't fast enough, strong enough to reach her before the heartless that stole her heart. He remembered her wide eyes staring into his own when her body crumpled. And that was when the ground beneath her fell. He had lost her. It wasn't long after that he lost himself as well.

"We should RTC. We've observed enough for today. Let the dusks finish up here," Saïx opened a corridor of darkness and stepped in, not waiting for Xaldin to finish whatever insignificant thought process that held him there. They had completed their mission and he preferred to return before anymore obtrusive tangents could seize his mind. He was done thinking about Rixai. Last night had been far enough. He was not going to let her provoke anymore nonsensical "emotions" out of him, especially when she was not even around. He was a Nobody.

** I don't know why, but this chapter was a huge pain to write. I hope the end result was worth it! Please review! :)**

** Song for this chapter: What Have You Done ~Within Temptation**


	9. New Missions

"Xemnas," Xigbar stepped through a dark corridor and emerged in the round room before his superior, "We found one. There's a Nobody who wields a key in Twilight Town."

"Twilight Town," Xemnas repeated with a level of surprise. "We've known of this world the longest. Why was this keyblade wielder not discovered sooner?"

"I don't know old man, maybe the pipsqueak was hiding," Xigbar crossed his arms. Why couldn't Lexaeus have reported in? He was the one who found the kid.

"I see. Keep a close eye on the child. I will retrieve him soon, but not just yet."

Xigbar raised the eyebrow over his good eye. All that searching and Xemnas wanted to hold off on recruiting the kid? Whatever.

"Is there anything else?"

"Yeah actually," he had almost forgotten, "The kid we found, we think we might know his Somebody."

"Oh? Someone else from Radiant Garden?"

Xigbar shook his head, "No. Sora."

For the first time since Xehanort had been in his new body, Xigbar saw him smile: a true, hideous smile in which he bore his teeth and vile intentions.

"Interesting."

* * *

Rixai arrived in the round room early, unsure of what she was supposed to do. She had only been here once before, when she was introduced to the organization as their Number XIII. She looked up at Xemnas sitting in his seat like always from her spot in the center of the floor. It was so high, and there were so many seats. Which one was meant for her? Xemnas offered no help. In fact, he seemed to not even notice her. It was almost like showing up on the second day of school with no idea what you were supposed to do since you missed the first.

"Hey, Rix!" Axel emerged through a dark corridor up on his seat at the same time Saïx and a few other members did. He waved down to her and pointed to an empty seat exactly two seats from himself and Saïx.

Rixai nodded gratefully and reentered the DtD, emerging on the indicated seat.

Axel smiled a small smile, an encouraging smile. She would have smiled back, if she was not so distracted by Saïx who sat expressionless in his seat with all of his attention on Xemnas. What was he thinking? They hadn't spoken since that night…

It was a couple more minutes before all the organization members had gathered. The last to arrive were those directly to the right and left of Rixai: Marluxia and Larxene. Larxene shot her a vicious look. She supposed Larxene had discovered her missing pajama shorts in Rixai's laundry hamper this morning and fought the impulse to roll her eyes. She had taken plenty of books from Zexion and he didn't seem to mind. Xemnas began speaking before Rixai could finish taking mental inventory of all the things she had "borrowed" from various members so far.

"Welcome, Nobodies. Today I bear excellent news on the progress we've made in our corridor-exploration efforts. It appears that we have discovered two more inhabitable worlds in the past week: Agrabah and Beast's Castle. The locations and necessary information for these worlds will be made known to you all as soon as the dusks finish their examinations and preparations. In the meantime, I would advise those of you who have been a part of the search for the keyblade wielder to begin training immediately for more difficult missions. Also, I am ceasing all corridor-exploration missions until further notice and would advise those who were a part of such missions to begin some training as well.

"Apart from Vexen, I expect you all to be preparing for what is to come. Xigbar will assign you new missions tailored to your skill level." There was a pause in which Rixai noticed Xigbar look quizzically up at Xemnas. He finished by saying, "That is all."

Rixai was puzzled. More training missions? She didn't exactly object, but it was still odd giving up the search for the keyblade wielder so suddenly. Did she miss something?

Apparently she did because many of the members immediately vanished back through the dark corridors. She followed their example and approached Xigbar to begin her day of new missions.

**Please review!**

**Song for this chapter: Where is Your Heart ~Kelly Clarkson**


	10. Training

Saïx grunted as he was knocked to the ground for what felt like the hundredth time this session. He leapt back to his feet and re-summoned his claymore, facing the army of dusks attacking him with narrowed eyes. He needed to keep fighting.

_Clang! Clang!_

_This_ was the reward he got for discovering a new world? Training missions? If he had a heart he knew he would hate this, along with each and every one of the dusks. His memories told him so.

_Clang!_

Saïx swung his claymore wide, managing to hit and destroy two of the attacking dusks. _Good._ Missions like these were difficult for Saïx, mainly because of his weapon. A claymore was not made to fight multiple enemies at once like this. He was sure he would do much better in a one-on-one mission, if the organization even assigned missions like that. Saïx spun just in time to see an oncoming dusk. He raised his claymore to block its attack, but raised it just a little too high.

"Ugh!" The weapon was once again knocked from his hands and Saïx was sent flying back against the wall. He slumped forward, trying to catch his breath.

_Stupid dusks!_

He shakily rose to his feet and retrieved his weapon. They were really wearing him down. Saïx tasted a faint hint of copper in his mouth and spat off to the side. Just as he thought: red.

He growled and rolled his shoulders back, feeling two quick pops of relief. He could do this. There were only twelve more to go. Saïx rushed forward and began slicing at one of the nearest dusks. It dissolved just as another rushed up and took its place. Eleven more to go.

"Grah!" Saïx took several hits from behind and was forced down to his knees. The dusks began to gang up on him in his weakened state and it took every ounce of Saïx's remaining power to break out of their circle of attacks and get a fair distance away. He had to re-summon his claymore.

_Clang!_

One of the faster dusks rushed up to assault Saïx, but he blocked the hit this time.

_Clang! Clang!_

It went down. Just ten more.

These missions were ridiculous. How many dusks did Xemnas have to spare anyway? Saïx began pondering this, as well as how many of the other Nobodies were being forced to participate in such absurd training missions. Did Rixai have to do these too?

_Clang!_

That was a close one. Saïx took down another dusk. Nine. He needed to stay focused. Besides, Rixai was still new. They probably wouldn't have placed her into such a difficult mission this soon.

Just as he thought this, there was a loud thump from behind the wall Saïx stood against. It had come from the training room next door no doubt. Saïx found himself beginning to wonder who was in there. It sounded like they weren't doing too well.

_Clang!_ "Oof!"

Saïx blocked one attack directed at his face, but took a swipe to his abdomen then a hit to his head before he could strike back. These things were fast. While Saïx tried to reorient himself, he was assaulted again and ended up sprawled out on his stomach with a large tear in the back of his cloak. He gritted his teeth. _He_ wasn't doing too well, and if he didn't want to end up failing the mission, he was going to have to stop thinking about Rixai.

Again Saïx stood, this time rushing the dusks instead of waiting for them to approach him. This move caught them by surprise, and he was able to kill off three more. Six left.

_Clang!_

Make that five.

_Slam!_

The wall practically shook as something, or some_one_, hit it from the other side. What if it was Rixai in the other room…?

Saïx shook his head, clearing out the disturbing thoughts. It wasn't! And even if it was, what difference did it make? He said he wasn't going to think about her anymore and she could handle her own battles!

_Clang! Clang!_

Excellent. Four more.

The room beside his was silent now which disturbed Saïx even more than when he could hear the battle. Was she okay? He growled as another dusk struck him, but he kept his footing and destroyed it and the dusk behind it quickly. Just two left now.

Saïx spun and took out the dusk directly behind him, leaving the remaining dusk to fend for itself. _Good luck_, Saïx thought and brought his claymore down on it, watching it dissolve completely before wiping the thin stream of blood that seeped from the corner of his mouth. There, mission accomplished.

He let his weapon vanish and exited the room, just a little too eager to check on the occupant of the room next door. Part of him hoped it wasn't Rixai, which the rest of him knew was a stupid thing to hope for since he had no heart to hope or care with. She was nothing to him. Why couldn't he just let it go?

Regardless, Saïx checked the name scrawled onto the sign-in sheet for training room 2B: Marluxia.

Saïx slammed the sign-in sheet back onto the wall and stormed to the showers. He seriously needed to get ahold of himself before he became like the rest of the lesser Nobodies.

**Oh, Saïx…**

**Please Review!**

**Song for this chapter: I Will Not Bow ~Breaking Benjamin**


	11. Nothing

**If you enjoy this series, I think you would also enjoy Hannatude's "These Violet Tears". Check it out! :)**

_Something doesn't add up._

Those words plagued Rixai as she tried to fall asleep. She had had a very difficult day of rough training missions in Twilight Town and had RTCed completely exhausted, yet she could not bring herself to fall asleep.

_Something doesn't add up._

Stupid Axel! Rixai sat up, positioning herself so her elbows rested on her knees and her forehead was propped up by her hands. As if it wasn't hard enough to fall asleep before, but now that he had given her the probably-false hope that her emotions were somehow real… she would never be able to get past this. As far as she had figured out the night before- another sleepless night of pondering over Axel's words- if her emotions were real, that meant that Saïx's were too. He _could_ feel for her, but he didn't seem to. But perhaps he would if he knew it was possible… Could he be barring his own emotions by not believing in them? Or maybe he just really didn't feel anything for her.

And what did this all mean about their hearts? Did they have them after all? That was doubtful. Xemnas would have been the one to know after all and he believed they didn't. So, were all these emotions really memories? Could they technically be real _and_ memories?

Rixai felt like her head was about to explode. Axel was right. Something _didn't_ add up.

She got out of bed. Rixai had promised herself she wouldn't do this again, but she had to if she was ever going to get any sleep. There were just too many questions to answer all by herself, and Isa had always been there for her before. Maybe he could be there for her now.

Rixai reached Saïx's room and nudged the door open, slipping in and crouching beside his bed as she had done the last time, only this time they were both easily visible by the bright moon outside the window.

"Isa," she whispered. "It's me."

He opened his eyes slowly, his brow wrinkled with sleep. "Rixai? What are you doing here… again?" He sat up and rubbed at his eyes with his palms before focusing on her.

Rixai met his gaze. It was hard keeping eye contact since the dull ache in her chest seemed to strengthen the longer she stared into those golden eyes, but she figured it was preferable to being distracted by his bare chest again. "I just needed to talk. You see, well, I've been kind of thinking a lot lately about these emotions, the ones you said were memories, and I'm not so sure-"

Saïx groaned. "Rixai, you're overthinking it. We're Nobodies. This means we do not have hearts. Without hearts there are no emotions. The only logical explanation for what you "feel" is that your brain is drawing from a time in which you could feel. That is all."

Rixai shook her head. "No. I know what I feel isn't an illusion." She got to her feet and sat on the edge of his bed, facing Saïx. "Illusions don't _hurt_ the way these emotions do, Isa. I know this is real. Why can't you just let yourself believe it too?"

Saïx's expression darkened. "Why can't you just accept the truth? We don't have emotions. Everyone else can accept this and move on with their lives, why can't you?"

"What kind of life is a life without feeling? I love you, Isa, and I know you loved me once too." Her eyes were stinging now. He had to feel something for her still… he _had_ to.

"You're wrong," Saïx looked away to the moon. His eyes glowed a liquid gold for a moment before flashing back to her, "The boy you loved is gone now, Rixai, and I know nothing about love."

She choked, the tightening in her throat finally becoming too great. She still shook her head, "No. No." She would not be able to convince Saïx with words, that much was obvious. Once he believed something, he was incredibly hard-headed, but maybe…

Rixai leaned forward, grabbing Saïx by either side of his face and pressing her lips to his. She felt one of his hands clasp to the small of her back and she moved one of her own between his shoulder blades, feeling the smooth bare skin beneath her trembling fingertips. His lips parted and together they deepened the kiss, her body leaning into his and his arms pressing them closer together until she had to pull away to take a shuddering breath.

"Isa…" She exhaled the name, a whisper spoken through her breathlessness. Her eyes were still closed and her forehead was pressed to his, their lips only centimeters apart.

That was when she felt the quiver pass through him and he retracted his arms from around her body, pulling away.

"Isa," Rixai pressed a hand to his chest, feeling for a pulse she knew she would not find. "These feeling are real, you see? You feel them too-"

He stiffly grabbed the wrist of the hand she held to his chest. "No. I don't. I feel nothing for you Rixai. Maybe once, but that was a lifetime ago. You mean nothing to me now." He released her wrist and met her eyes, "And my name is Saïx. Not Isa."

A whole new type of emptiness entered Rixai at his words. It was an evil kind that sought to devour her from the inside out. She could feel its claws and teeth ripping at her chest, her stomach, even her brain as she tried to process all he had just said. _Nothing. She was nothing._

A tear trickled down Rixai's cheek. First it was one, but it was followed by many, surprising them both. She tried to blink them away, but they just kept coming.

"Okay," Rixai croaked, "You were right. I won't bother you anymore, Saïx." She stood and left the room without turning back, shutting the door gently behind her before succumbing to her tears and weeping until dawn.

**What did you think? Let me know in a review!**

** Song for this chapter: Let Go ~Red**

**In retrospect, this song really doesn't have much to do with this chapter (I don't know if most of the songs do actually 0-0;) The song I would prefer for this chapter would be "Misguided Ghosts" by Paramore, but I moved that one to chapter three since I really like this song too... -_-;  
**


	12. Giving Up

Saïx stared at his bedroom door long after Rixai had gone, his fingers placed against his lips in wonder. That kiss… it was their first. This thought, along with the memory of the harsh words he said to her when she confessed her love, pulled at his gut, twisting it and making him feel like he might be physically sick. But it was true, wasn't it? He hadn't said anything to her that wasn't true.

_I feel nothing for you…_

They were words he so desperately wanted to be true. He knew he didn't feel anything for her because he _couldn't_ without a heart, but at the time all he had wanted was to be near her. He hadn't wanted the kiss to end. He wanted things to go back to the way they had been back in Radiant Garden.

What was wrong with him?

He was becoming a lesser Nobody.

Saïx rose from the bed and sighed. He didn't know what he was doing. He didn't feel guilty. He didn't because he couldn't, but he knew he wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep until he spoke with Rixai.

He exited the room and found Rixai's door. He raised a hand to turn the doorknob but hesitated. What would he say? In the absolute silence of the hall, he was pretty sure he could hear her sobbing still. How was that possible? Nobodies couldn't cry… could they?

Saïx sighed. Had she completely given in to her memory-induced emotions? He supposed he couldn't really blame her if she had. Even he for a moment had wondered if maybe, just maybe, it would be okay to give in to them himself and let himself 'feel' something for her. He could let himself sink into the 'emotions' her kiss inspired in him and just be… happy.

He shuddered. It was foolishness. All of it was foolish. Their emotions were not real, it was simply their past beckoning to them once again. To give in to it would be no different than choosing to live a lie that fooled no one. Even Rixai couldn't deny this. After all, she had called him Isa.

_"Isa, I… I think I might be in love with you…"_

Saïx growled and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to force the memory out. _Get out of my head!_

What was happening to him? These memories… they plagued him more and more every day. Everything had been fine before she had shown up here. Why couldn't she have just faded away with the rest of his past? Why did she have to come here?!

His gut twisted at his own thoughts and he forced himself to step back from the door. One of his hands clutched at the skin of his abdomen, over the pain and he grimaced. She was messing with his head. He was _letting_ her get in his head. He had no emotions. If Rixai wanted to deny reality and live in her own little false world, that was her business. He was done thinking about this. He was done with her.

Emotions were for lesser Nobodies, and he wasn't one.

Saïx tromped to the showers, giving up on sleep along with everything else.

**Please review!**

** Song for this chapter: Bring Me to Life ~Evanescence**


	13. The Truth

Rixai stood at the entrance to the Doors to Darkness and sucked in a breath. Last night she had decided that the only way she was going to get any true answers was if she asked Xemnas directly. He would be the one who knew the most after all, since he was Ansem the Wise. The only problem was, she didn't know where to find him. It was early morning still, so he might be in his room sleeping, but she had no idea where Xemnas's room was. She had only learned the locations of a few of the Nobody's rooms in the short time she had spent in the castle, and of those that she had learned she only remembered Saïx's.

Maybe the Round Room? Rixai doubted Xemnas spent _that_ much time in the designated meeting room, but it was the only room she had ever seen him in. It was at least a place to start. She stepped into the corridor and navigated her way through the darkness to the room where nothing gathers. When she emerged, she was behind one of the massive chairs versus the center of the room which was where she had intended to come out, but for this she was grateful since it seemed that Xemnas had company.

* * *

"But what's the point then?" Xigbar asked, once again confused by Xemnas's twisted logic, "If Kingdom Hearts won't give us hearts then why-?"

"Fool. The Nobodies already have hearts. I have explained this to you several times now: all things that live have hearts. Some are simply weaker than others. When you became a Nobody you did not forfeit your heart, you merely awakened the darkness within it, weakening your emotions in the process. We want to awaken Kingdom Hearts for our own purposes, but in order to get the rest of The Thirteen to oblige we need them to believe they have lost something worth fighting to regain. They need to want the promise of Kingdom Hearts fulfilled as much as I in order for The Thirteen to truly awaken. It matters not that the promise they seek is a false one. All that matters is that their dedication matches my own."

"Oh," Xemnas was right; he had told Xigbar this before. Xigbar just hadn't realized what he meant at the time. Xigbar opened his mouth to ask another question when he heard a small gasp from behind Marluxia's seat. He instantly summoned his arrowguns, but Xemnas stilled him with a wave of his hand. The old man slightly shook his head, like he had been aware of the intruder's presence all along and didn't mind it. Xigbar let the guns disappear. He didn't understand what he was doing- letting someone listen in on one of their private meetings- but if he wasn't concerned then neither was Xigbar.

Xemnas continued, "Vexen has completed one of his projects. It is almost time to retrieve the keyblade wielder."

Xigbar nodded, slightly distracted by the hidden Nobody's presence. He didn't care that they were listening, but it did make it a little hard to focus. His eyes darted back towards Marluxia's chair instinctually.

"Calm yourself. She has already gone," Xemnas said nonchalantly, "She left once she heard what she'd come to hear."

* * *

Rixai hadn't meant to make a sound. She hoped Xemnas hadn't heard. Well, a part of her hoped while the rest of her was completely elated. They had hearts after all. They _could_ feel! But why would Xemnas tell them they didn't have hearts if he knew otherwise? For 'The Thirteen'? That part of the conversation hadn't made much sense to Rixai. It was obvious that Xemnas was up to something manipulative, but she had no clue what it was. Suddenly, Cheshire's words popped into her head: _One who has done you much wrong… false answers_. He had been right all along, Xemnas was a snake. But what was he planning?

After much speculation that got Rixai nowhere, she decided to postpone her questions until she could gather more information. Rixai stretched, getting ready for whatever missions the new day had to offer, and exited her room. She ran right into Xigbar.

"Hello, Poppet," He sneered as he backed away to straighten his cloak. "Xemnas wants a word with you."

* * *

Rixai emerged from the dark corridors on her seat in the round room. She let the portal disappear behind her as she sat, waiting for Xemnas, the only other Nobody in the room, to speak. He must have heard her listening in on him and Xigbar. She wondered what kind of trouble she would be in. She had seen the strange, white Nobodies called 'dusks' slinking about the castle in the past. Rumor had it that they were once Nobodies like everybody else but got on Xemnas's bad side. Would she be turned into one of those because she was spying? She hoped not. She doubted any of them could even think on their own…

"Rixai, I have been informed of your skill with eliminating heartless."

Okay, that was not what she had been expecting to hear. Rixai stayed silent and waited for Xemnas to continue.

"It seems that in the short amount of time you have spent in this organization, you have risen through the ranks of accomplished assassins and now hold the record average for the most heartless destroyed per mission. Congratulations."

She wasn't sure if she was supposed to speak or not, but felt a, "thank you," was appropriate which she expressed with a slight nod.

"You are henceforth allowed access to privileged information on the two worlds we have most recently discovered. You see, one of the worlds consists largely of an enchanted castle. This castle has many magical artifacts and properties which might prove useful to some of our members, but we are unable to infiltrate its gates due to a large beast."

"A beast?" Rixai didn't understand. She was called in here because of a beast?

"Yes. This beast has proven itself to be incredibly difficult to kill and has maimed a number of our reconnaissance dusks. I am afraid that no one shall be able to access this new world if the beast is not sedated. That is why I have called you in here today. I am granting you a special mission. Your job is to locate and eliminate the beast and report back directly to me. Do you think you can manage this task?"

It sounded so simple. All Xemnas wanted was for her to kill some beast; mere child's play for her bow. She would kill it before it even knew she was there.

"Of course."

"Excellent. Notify Xigbar of your departure before you go. Do not speak to anyone else." Xemnas stood and opened a dark corridor. He exited through it, leaving Rixai alone in the great room to prepare for her mission.

**Please review!**

**Songs for this chapter: Get Out Alive ~Three Days Grace & Stand My Ground ~Within Temptation**

**You get two since this chapter was originally two different chapters. :)**


	14. The Tears of a Nobody

Saïx approached Xigbar in the grey room to receive his second training mission. He hoped today's mission would at least be out of the castle. He needed to get away for a while. Plus, he had had about enough of the dusks.

"Yeah," Xigbar said to Xaldin, "The way I see it at least one of them will end up dead. One less beast in a castle either way, right?"

Saïx stopped and pondered the subject of Xigbar's laughter. A beast in a castle? Could he have been talking about _the_ beast from Beast's Castle? They had only just discovered that world and the terrible guardian that protected its heart: the man who had been transformed into a ferocious creature by some sort of magic. He fought off any and all heartless who dared to enter his castle's gates with a violence only a beast could possess, and the strategy of that of a man. He was truly a formidable foe which begged the question: what other 'beast' dared to pick a fight with him?

"I still do not understand," Xaldin said, "Xemnas personally asked her to destroy the beast? Does he _intend_ to kill Rixai, or does he really think she can pull it off?"

Saïx stiffened. Rixai was fighting the beast? Despite his vow to have nothing more to do with her, Saix pictured her small form perched at the edge of his bed last night, that ridiculously fragile Nobody who actually cried when he told her she meant nothing to him.

She didn't stand a chance.

* * *

Rixai crouched on the roof of the castle with her bow at the ready. Her eyes darted back and forth over the dim courtyard, constantly searching for any sign of movement. So far she had seen nothing but a few heartless dancing about in the shadows cast by the bright full moon above. She resisted the urge to fire at them. They weren't her target and she wasn't stupid enough to risk being discovered by picking off the little nuisances. She was holding out for the beast.

_There._ The great, hulking thing emerged from within the castle beneath her. He ran at the heartless, killing them with a savage anger and leaving deep scratch marks in the ground. _That_ was her target. Rixai inched forward a bit as she took aim. All she needed was one arrow. She could end him in one shot…

* * *

"Excuse me," Saïx said as he approached Xigbar. "Did I hear you say Rixai was fighting the beast?"

"Yeah, man!" Xigbar laughed, "Wanna make a bet? Luxord's taking them over in his room."

Saïx waved away his nonsense. If Rixai was truly attempting to battle the beast then he had no time for Xigbar's foolishness. She was in trouble and he could not simply let her die even if he was done with her. "No. I wish to assist her."

"Whoa! Sorry, no can do compadre. As much as I'd like to let you run off and play with your girlfriend, _you_ haven't done your mission for today and _she's_ under special orders. You'd have to get expressed permission from the superior if you want in on this mission, which I doubt you'd get with your numbers."

Saïx scowled. Xigbar had seen his training scores. "I will complete my mission later and I do not care what type of mission she has undertaken. She needs help."

Xigbar's eyes narrowed as he stared down Saïx. "Are you saying you'd defy a direct order?"

"Are you defending that protocol takes precedence over the wellbeing of our own numbers?"

"I'm saying that our orders matter more than your stupid, petty romance," Xigbar hissed, "And if I were you, I'd start following those orders before you get turned into a dusk."

"I'll take my chances," Saïx had had enough of this. There was obviously some underlying reason why Xigbar did not want him to assist Rixai. It was more than just orders. Someone wanted her dead, no, Xemnas wanted her dead and Saïx refused to let him get his way. Rixai deserved better than that.

Saïx opened a corridor of darkness, ignoring the rest of Xigbar's objections. He stepped through and began running towards Beast's Castle.

* * *

Rixai exhaled, her fingers easing open on the bowstring, but just as she was about to release the arrow at the beast's head, her foot slipped on a loose shingle. The ceramic plate skid down a few feet before toppling off the roof and landing with a loud crash. She loosed the arrow, but too late for the beast spun at the noise, throwing off her mark and causing the arrow to merely graze his cheek. He roared and spotted her immediately.

_Oh no_. Rixai turned and scrambled up higher on the roof. The beast wasn't far behind and easily climbed up to the roof in the amount of time it took her to get halfway to the nearest balcony. For some reason, when the beast made it up to the roof and noticed the direction in which Rixai traveled, he seemed provoked even further. He roared again and chased after her, every one of his strides matching three of her own. Rixai was breathing heavy out of fear and the exertion it took to run across an uneven castle roof, but she was finally within touching range of the balcony. She grabbed for it, hoping to pull herself over its railing and perhaps break into the castle itself to hide, when she felt the beast grasp her thigh. His claw-like hand wrapped around it like an adult held a child's wrist. Rixai's scream was drowned out by the beast's angry roar as he threw her off the roof.

* * *

Where was she?

Saïx examined what he believed to be the back of the beast's castle for any sign of Rixai. There were plenty of scratches and other signs of battle back here, but nothing recent as far as he could tell. So where was she? Perhaps she was still waiting to stage her attack? She was an archer, it was only logical that she would be in hiding until the opportune moment presented itself. Or, perhaps the battle had already ended?

A chill crawled up Saïx's spine. No. She couldn't be dead yet. He had come to save her. That was when he heard it: the beast's roar. "Rixai!" Saïx summoned his claymore and rushed towards the front of the castle. He only hoped he wasn't too late.

* * *

Rixai forced her eyes open. She looked up at the night sky directly above her and couldn't help admiring its beauty. There were so many stars… why was she here again?

The beast jumped down from the roof and landed a few yards away from her. That was when it clicked. _The beast!_ Rixai reached for her bow which lay beside her and pulled the string, summoning an arrow with the motion. She tried to jump to her feet, but her body was slow to respond. She was hurt. Before she knew it, the beast was upon her and was roaring in her face.

Rixai grunted and maneuvered the bow as best as she could in the small amount of space between herself and the monster. She was not going out like this! The beast snarled when he saw the bow, the arrow aimed at his eye. He smacked it away, ripping it out of Rixai's hands before she could fire and snapping it in half like a toy. The bow vanished in a plume of dark vapor.

A small, strangled noise leaked out of Rixai's throat at the realization of what was about to happen. She had lost. She turned her head to face the beast. His eyes were wild, the pupils small and feral, as he lifted a claw to strike.

* * *

Saïx heard the scream moments before spotting the beast. He stood over a small, dark lump on the ground. It didn't move. _That could be anything_, Saïx's mind immediately informed him, _that could be anything_. Nevertheless, he ran towards the object, watching it slowly take on features as he drew closer. He was sprinting by the time he spotted Rixai's undeniable blue-violet hair. He was too late.

"Graah!" Saïx skid between the beast and Rixai's motionless body a second before the beast moved to strike again. He threw up his claymore in defense, but the beast swiped over it, inflicting a single scratch diagonally across his forehead and the bridge of his nose. The beast struck again and Saïx raised the weapon a bit, trying to block this second attack coming from the other direction, but he was too slow and took another scratch that lay perpendicular over the last one. He winced but did not move. He was going to protect Rixai. He may not have felt anything for her, but he was still loyal to his core. Plus, he couldn't exactly identify the reasoning behind it, but he knew that he _needed_ her to be okay.

The beast roared, angered further by the arrival of another Nobody. He looked as if he was about to swipe at Saïx again when something seemed to snap his human side to attention. The beast paused and looked down at Rixai's still body and back to Saïx who stood before her, protecting her. The beast grimaced.

"Leave!" The beast roared into Saïx's face before turning and heading back into his castle. He was done fighting.

Saïx let his claymore disappear and dropped down beside Rixai. He gently pulled her upper body into his lap and examined her wounds. Most of them seemed superficial, but there were several particularly large gashes that stretched across her stomach, ripping open her cloak and making it impossible for her to travel through the corridors of darkness. There was also a deep scratch that ran down from her neck and across her chest which was bleeding profusely.

"Rixai?" Saïx gently shook her to consciousness. She was still alive.

"Isa?" She sucked in a breath with difficulty and focused her deep blue eyes on his. "You came…"

"Yes," Saïx whispered, "I came to help you." He found that he was beginning to have a hard time breathing as well. His breaths kept trying to squeeze past what felt like a boulder in his chest, making them irregular and shallow. "I came as soon as I heard."

Her eyes shut as she sighed. "Thank you."

The twisting in Saïx's gut was back. She couldn't leave yet. He had to make her stay…

"Isa, I need to tell you something…" Her words were faint, waning as her breathing grew weaker. "…Something about your heart."

"What is it?" He needed to keep her talking. As long as she was talking he knew she was okay.

"You still have one. We all-" she sucked in a breath and winced.

"Rixai…"

"You have my heart..." Her words were beginning to fade into barely-decipherable murmurs. Saïx had to lean closer to hear the rest of what she had to say, "But you also have…"

Saïx felt Rixai's body go completely limp in his arms. He watched in horror as her head lolled towards him, and knew she was gone.

"Rixai?" Saïx shook the body, pleading internally for her to wake up. "Rixai!"

Small dark flakes began to float up off of Rixai's body and into the air as the body was enveloped in darkness. In a matter of moments there was nothing left of the girl Saïx had once known. Not even a strip of fabric from her cloak.

Saïx felt a drop of rain on his cheek and reached up to wipe it away, realizing a moment later that the sky was clear and that the raindrops were falling from his eyes.

He screamed; a loud, guttural cry to the heavens. Why? Why did this happen? Was it because he didn't have a heart? If he had been able to return her feelings for him, would he have been able to save her? Saïx's shoulders slumped forward. _Kingdom Hearts_. That was the answer. Kingdom Hearts would give him his heart back. He would do everything in his power to make it so, and until then, he vowed he would feel nothing. Not even the memories of his emotions would sway him from this cause. He would get his heart back…

…For the both of them.

**Songs for this chapter: My Last Breath ~Evanescence & What I've Done ~Linkin Park**


	15. Epilogue

Xemnas's Secret Reports No. 000

_VII has displayed significant levels of improvement since the removal of XIII from our ranks. Despite a momentary lapse in his ability to follow orders the day XIII was executed, VII has demonstrated nothing but ideal behavior and exemplary mission statistics. Perhaps it is about time I bequeath more responsibilities to him. At the very least, I believe I have discovered II's replacement as far as mission management goes, but I hope that in time I will be able to trust him with more than this. I could use a new lackey. Perhaps VII will prove to be more competent than II in more aspects than those he has already shown thus far._

* * *

Axel sat on the ledge of the Twilight Town bell tower, watching the trains pass by in the distance and nibbling on his ice cream stick. Tomorrow he would be receiving a special mission from Xemnas. He was supposed to watch after the boy- the keyblade wielder- who was coming to replace Rixai. Axel sighed and tossed the stick out as far as he could and watched it fall until he lost sight of it.

_Rixai_.

Axel had known nothing about her suicide mission until after Saïx had returned without her, and everything he knew about the mission he learned from Larxene's patented rumor mill. Saïx had refused to answer any of his questions, or even talk to him really. As far as Axel could tell, he had nothing to say about Rixai's death and would rather pretend she had never come to the organization to begin with. Well, that would have been true, except Saïx did say _one_ thing when he got back.

He crossed his arms and lay back so that his legs still hung over the edge of the tower, but the rest of him faced the twilight sky. Axel wrinkled his brow in thought, remembering the strange promise he had made to Saïx that day. The promise Saïx insisted he make.

Saïx wanted help taking over the organization.

**I really hope you enjoyed **_**Origins**_**! It was really fun to write; though, extremely sad. I just wanted to show a different side of Saïx in this fan fiction since I don't see him as a completely bad guy in Kingdom Hearts… he's just very misled. (And I am **_**still**_** waiting for the day he completes his glorious mutiny and takes down Xemnas… KHIII perhaps?)**

** Anyway, I have a prequel fanfic planned out for this series (for those of you who are curious) and possibly even a sequel (though I'm still working out the kinks in that one). Remember to leave a review!**

**Song for the final chapter: Lost in Paradise ~Evanescence**


End file.
